In a Tweet around dinnertime on Wednesday night, Bellefontaine (OH) quarterback Tavien St. Clair made known his intentions. Ohio State has its quarterback for the 2025 cycle.
The Buckeyes have a quarterback in each class through 2025, now, with Lincoln Klenholtz (four-star from South Dakota, 2023) and Air Noland (four-star from Georgia, 2024). Ohio State has done impressively well at recruiting quarterbacks in Day’s time. It does not seem to be slowing down any time soon.
All Glory to God! Dreams to reality. It Just means more to be a Buckeye. Buckeye Nation…I’M HOME! 100% Committed…GO BUCKS!🅾️🌰🏠@ryandaytime @CoreyDennis_ @brianhartline @OhioStateFB @BHSChieftainFB @strength_bhs @MickWalker247 @SWiltfong247 @Bill_Kurelic @ChadSimmons_ pic.twitter.com/XdqYzpn8n0
— Tavien St. Clair (@TJSaint_1) June 21, 2023
St. Clair chose Ohio State over Alabama because “there’s no place [he’d] rather be.”
Tavien St. Clair is Staying Home
He’s Turning Heads Already
As of his commitment, St. Clair is considered a four-star prospect, although that may change.
As a freshman, St. Clair threw for 1,722 yards and 13 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He did struggle with accuracy as he completed just 55% of his passes. However, as BuckeyeHuddle’s Mark Givler put it, he’s never seen a quarterback take such a jump between his sophomore summer to his junior summer.
St. Clair’s sophomore campaign really kick-started his recruitment and big-school potential. At Bellefontaine, which runs a spread offense similar to Ohio State, St. Clair tore through Central Buckeye Conference defenses and earned Offensive Player of the Year for his Kenton Trail division. He finished with the second most passing yards with 2,453 and third in touchdowns with 25.
The most impressive part of his game as it has developed is his proclivity for the long ball juxtaposed with his accuracy. He has an impressively strong arm and he’s not afraid to take shots. On the year, he completed an impressive 70.7% of his passes. The highlight of his young Bellefontaine career was his dismantling of Lima Shawnee where he went off for 25 of 29 passing with 412 yards and a whopping seven touchdowns.
Camping with Ohio State
Over the past three weekends was where Taiven St. Clair really caught fire on the recruiting trail. He’s worked as hard as any quarterback in the nation. As Givler continued, he’s well on his way to ending up as a top-50 player in the recruiting cycle.
He dominated 7-on-7s and showed Ohio State coaches that he was the real deal. He can launch the ball with just about anyone and can also fit it in the tiniest of windows. There were even talks of comparing him to Josh Allen in the NFL with his size and ability to make plays.
His playmaking abilities and development were on full display. He earned scholarship offers from the likes of Michigan, Alabama, Penn State, and LSU, among others. The Buckeyes got their quarterback early and it looks like the best is yet to come for the in-state product.
And, if there were any worries about him flipping, St. Clair is “fully committed to Ohio State…any recruitment outside of that, [he’s] not going to take part in it.”
Not a bad vote of confidence.
The 2025 Class is Just Getting Started
As of Tavien St. Clair’s commitment, Ohio State now has two commits for the 2025 cycle. St. Clair joins five-star safety, Jontae Gilbert from Georgia.
Getting a quarterback early on in the cycle is huge, especially when it’s a player who looks like he’s going to continue to develop and become a real star. Having a quarterback in tow shows recruits that the team knows the direction its going and offers the undecided a little guidance. As St. Clair put it,
“With the help of a quarterback, they feel like if he’s high profile, he’ll be able to get whoever he wants.” St. Clair adds, “That’s the main focus is to have the best team you can have … The coaches will tell me who they want to go after and I’m going to go after them. Whether it’s above me, behind me, or in my class, I’m trying to get the best guys here.”
The Future
For the 2024 class, Ohio State has eight “Crystal Balls” according to 247Sports. Most notably, five-star defensive line prospect, Eddrick Houston. For 2025, there are only two others because it’s so far out: four-star tight end, Emaree Watson, and four-star quarterback, Ryan Montgomery.
Montgomery is an interesting note. He’s also an in-state recruit from Findlay, Ohio, and has been well-known for longer. Will Ohio State take two quarterbacks in the 2025 cycle? Not a problem, according to St. Clair. He asserts, “If that’s what it came to, it’s fine.”
With the commitment of St. Clair, Ohio State has yet another great quarterback for the future. Ryan Day can sure recruit quarterbacks, time will tell if he can continue to develop them into first-round talents. Based on his current trajectory, it’s not outlandish to think St. Clair could join those ranks in a few years.
Photo courtesy: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
